Hello,

New SALE in my SHOP from Aug 31 - Sept 7th midnight. Save 20% with code FIRSTSALE.

So thank you for visiting, and hope you enjoy the many art tips in my BLOG, and paintings in my SHOP and just feel blessed while you hang around awhile.

Joanie

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Nov+Dec Theme: Wintery Holidays

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Hi folks Firstly, here's our next theme beginning first week of November and including the first 2 weeks of December....when we take a break until the New Year. This opens up oodles of possibilities, so think Holidays  Wrapped gifts  Thankfulness Beautiful table settings Feasts Family Quietness Snowy scenes Limited only by your imagination! Another month flew by ... And some dolls were painted!  Here are a few of mine... Wishing each of you a wonderful wintery season. Even here in Northern California, the land of two seasons, the summer is clearly behind us. Brrrr! Bring on the rain, hot chocolate and k-dramas. Lol. Embrace your Creativity! Come join us online for some painting inspiration.... End your year with a creative burst along with the most awesome, kind and dear art community. Get in touch! Blessings always, Joanie
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Sept Theme: What's Your Morning Ritual?

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Let your mind wander.....from your favorite brunches to your daily eyes close make your coffee routine. Think up different ways to create a painting out of this theme...... Classes begin next week (we are taking Labor Day week off for a bit of R & R.)
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AUG Theme: Nature Studies

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Greetings my artsy friends, I announced last week that our next theme is Garden and Nature....well here's a bit more of a specific spin on it to get your creative juices flowing. Vines, trunks and branches! And do I have an album of inspiration for us all. Up in the Seattle area, my daughter and I visited a Bonsai exhibit and a Rhododendron Jungle. Oh my, the richness and beauty. The very Breath of Nature. Loads of pictorial inspiration. A quick little ink drawing this morning on mixed media paper with some graphite finger smudges to add some value. I  am proposing Ink for our medium then adding softness with either watercolor or chalk pastel for some evocative backgrounds. But per usual for all my classes, I offer the prompt, and you and your Muse decide on which direction you want to take this. Come join us.....openings in Wednesday AM Zoom classes. 10am to noon California time. Or receive the videos and send me your weekly project for feedback all on your own time.  More on...
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Tartan Plaids and my First Improvisational Quilt

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I scored this collection of Tartan plaids. All wool, close to 8 x 12 inch pieces. They each had two little holes where they had been on a sampler pack. I was entranced by these plaids.....and just knew that if I continued to percolate with ideas, one would come to the fore.  It did. I began to slice and dice...to give it a more modern look. As is, the plaid reminded me of parochial school uniforms. LOL. I LOVE the wonky curvy stripes, don't you? Then i started laying them out....not sure what the heck I was going to do with these. And these were just little bits of scraps to insert whereever needed. You can tell I am struggling here....but I finally went to bed, very discouraged, only to wake up in the morning with a brainstorm. It needed a cohesive idea, some Unity - and for me that was a centerpiece.  This central concept is called a Log Cabin....so here's my rather wild improv on that. You can see where I inserted those little scrappy color bits. Adds a bit of charm I think...
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A quilt I call JOINING

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Well, this was just plain fun. Kind of a pattern, kind of not. Called a split bulls eye.  I collected a bunch of scraps, cut circles of 3 sizes layered them up on pieces of denim and sewed them together only to do what quilters do cut them up AGAIN and reassemble then sew them up. I did add quite a bit of meandering machine quilting to start, but then went to town with my hand stitching which i LOVE LOVE LOVE to do. It's a meditation. So here she is - a beautiful and Warm couch quilt. Winter time divine. For me, I call it JOINING.
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Oranges and Violets

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Well, this work is from May, but who cares? Color is color is color and always so fun to observe. Raima B  
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JULY THEME - Pet Portraits - wild or domestic, you choose

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Hello Creative Friends My artists were challenged in June, but in a good way, as I offered instruction as to how to Get Resemblance in our portraits. Thats tricky stuff. But it doesn't mean we can't also be expressive at the same time. Its not Either/Or. Realistic OR Expressive. For instance....I taught how to get the proportions between the eyes and nose. Once you have that, well.....the mouth is much easier to place.  I will get some of my students paintings and studies and create a post soon. Amazing work was done....using several different techniques. There was truly something for everyone...beginners to more experienced. But lets talk now about What's Next! Most animals are earthy in color, but we will be mixing Earthy with a Pop of Color .  Here are a few of my paintings and as you can see, Animals can be Colorful! ....remember, I am a cat lady, thats why I paint them often, but I also love me some owls, and plenty of other animals. All animals of the kingdom are gr...
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June Theme: Painting our Ancestors

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Well, really we will be combining a few things this coming month of June. Using all our newly acquired and well-practiced color mixing, with our beautiful array of NEUTRALS we will be painting vintage folks, pets, even houses. Something for everyone. This dear woman is an ancestor of mine but I haven't a clue who she is. My aunt had this photo and a few others in her photo box. Forever a mystery - but I love her! And that happened AFTER I painted her. I was seriously going to toss the photo when I couldn't identify her. There is truly something magical about painting ones own ancestors.
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A Quilt called "Enchantment"

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Introducing "Enchantment".....isn't she purdy? It all began with Yellow, Pink and Aqua scraps of fabric. I have been collecting all sorts of scraps.....and don't really plan on, often anyway, buying new beautiful quilting fabric in already curated collections. I am more interested in taking up the challenge of saving old fabrics from the landfill and giving them new life, new color, new design, new BEAUTY!  And this one really worked that way. 
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Red Russian quick update: Meet Rita

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If you saw my last post of just a few days ago I introduced my first machine and hand stitched quilt I named the Red Russian, and which I dedicated to the wonderful woman who sent me her big box of Russian fabrics.  I have gotten permission to share these lovely photos of Rita, taken by her talented friend Marina, and she told me to pick one but you know what ? They're all so gorgeous I just had to share the 3 of them with you. Rita B is from Russia but now lives in the States. She is my beautiful friend of many years through my blog posting. This is one of the sweetest rewards of posting some of my creative endeavors - the feedback loop from the Hearts of my readers.  She refers to my quilt as a Hug . When I shipped it off to her and of course she had no idea I was sending it, I told her that a Hug and an Angel were on the way. The angel was a little piece of art. "It would be an honor to be a model demonstrating your fantastic ART of the SOUL...  I have an idea to wri...
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Quilting rabbit hole.....and the Red Russian

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When I first started handstitching a year or so ago, never ever ever did I foresee that I would not only tiptoe into be making quilts but become completely besotted with the entire process. From cutting to hand quilting. Big shocker to me!  And then, after giving it some thought, it really is just more Painting, albeit with textiles and threads. Oh Bliss! I can't get enough Color!!! So I thought I would share a few of my quilts with you.....and there are more to show, but I will try to present them in the order in which I made them. A dear reader of this blog, and fellow artist, Dear Rita B, so kindly sent me fabric that she has had with her since she and her husband left Russia many moon ago. The majority of it was red, and those dolls?  Look closely at the adorable doll faces that appear in one of the fabrics. I swooned. And named this quilt after my dear friend:  Introducing my first quilt "The Red Russian."
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